Nightlands
Geographical Features Heart of Darkness Exceedingly dark forest with cliffs and boulders in the center of the Nightlands. The Heart of Darkness is said to be the absolute darkest location in the world, lightless at all times. It is also home to some of the most terrifying flora and fauna in the Nightlands. (Located at 8R) Black Forest The Black Forest is easily the largest geographical feature of the Nightlands overall, hundreds of miles of trees and thick mist and shadows. The Black Forest has the widest variety of life, with many different species of plants and animals, as well as many spirits, phantoms, and supernatural creatures. Ancestral home of the Ghraethetcheckt. (Located at 7Q, 7R, 8P, 8Q, 8S, 8T, 9Q-9U, 10Q-10S) Balduur Moors These windswept, barren grasslands stretch for miles across the northern edge of the upper portion of the Jaws of Night. They are far less gloomy than the Black Forest, but the days are always grey-skied and cloudy, the nights clear and moonlit. Said to be the homeland of fierce and lonely beasts like DunWolves and Wandering Thuun. (Located at 4R, 5R, 6Q) BlackFang Sea The sea that is encircled by the Jaws of Night. Though deep, tempestuous and cold, it is the home of many huge fish and sharks. (Located at 6T +1) Duur' Abmaachtk An absolutely massive cavern system spread throughout the Nightlands, with hundreds of entrances and exits, as well as thousands of miles of tunnels, massive caverns, and even, in deeper, its own bizarre ecosystem. Not even the Ghraethetcheckt are comfortable in the deeper reaches of this realm, and it's very likely no one will ever know how deep or how far it goes.'' ''This underground area is also important due to the deposits of Umbridine found here. Uudand Swamp The southern swamplands of the Nightlands, these half-submerged forests are quietly haunted places, with bobbing will-o-the-wisps and strange spirits that move among the thick cypress trees. The murky waters are the quarters of a variety of strange creatures. (Located at 8U) Shadrigal Fens A vast stretch of marsh fed by numerous tributaries and deltas branching from the Blackfang Sea inland. It is nearly as barren as the moors, but strange things swim in the various pools scattered about, and ghostfire often flickers across the waters. (Located at 3U, 4U) Malaphetcht The Malaphetcht Mountain range is the longest and highest overall in the Nightlands. For the most part they are barren, craggy, and almost perpetually snowbound. The lower parts have pine barrens stretching for miles, and at the end of the range in the East it goes to sloping, forested hills. (Located at 7S, 6R, 5-3S, 3T, 4T) Patheet Hills Past the Uudand Swamps are the hills. At the tip of the Jaws of Night, these hilly woodlands are in perpetual twilight, a dark purple-red sky at all times, shadows everywhere. The only exception is precisely at noon each day, when every creature there immediately drops and hides, burrows, or covers its eyes. There is a blazing flash of temporary, blinding light, and in the dim land this can easily blind those not expecting it for several minutes. (Located at 7-9V) Q' Achitaal River The longest and largest river in the Nightlands, it is, unlike Loch Ghraendaal, cold, as well as running quite deep. Though it is a good source of water to the Ghraethetcheckt, as well as for fishing, but neither boats nor swimming is allowed, as some of the fish and other aquatic inhabitants are large enough to easily turn the tables on fisherman. Sdithck Mountains The western-most mountain range in the Nightlands, and, despite being a rather small range, having the highest mountain in the Nightlands, Duur' Indritcht. They are fairly temperate, matching the naturally cool climate, but they can be quite cold during the fall and winter months. (Located at 7P, 6P) Raethetchkt Isle In the center of the Heart of Darkness is an incredibly deep lake, and in the middle of that lake is a small island, wrapped in thick mist and silence. Loch Ghraendaal The largest body of freshwater in the Nightlands, it is deep and surprisingly enough, rather warm. It also has a high mineral content, making the water slightly opaque, and with a very particular taste to it. (Located at 9R) Jaws of Night The twin peninsula of the Nightlands, facing East, made of forest and mountains to the south and fens/mountains to the north. Like their name suggests, they seem almost to devour the sun as it goes down each night. (Located at 4R-4U, and 8S-8V) Cities of the Nightlands Duur' Alkaad The main city of the Ghraethetcheckt, and the capital of Schetchetckt, this place rises from beside Loch Ghraendaal like a black mountain. It is constructed exclusively out of dark stone, onyx, obsidian, black marble, and similar materials. The buildings tend to be fairly tall and peaked or pointed, with elaborate statues and strange curves in the geometry that are difficult to comprehend. The construction of the city, as well, is very odd, due to the ability among the Ghraethetcheckt to walk up walls and on cielings. Hallways might be vertical, or stairs upside-down, doors on the cielings or high on the walls. The city is known in particular for its art schools and library, as well as particualrly narrow, hilly streets. (Located at 40S) 'Features - '''School of Pictures and Artworks, The Black Library, Obsidian Convene Abimaagh Abimaagh is a costal city that is centered around fishing and woodworking. It is a mid-sized city, with mostly wooden construction, using particularly dark types of wood in the construction of the homes. Sharkfishing is particularly profitable, if rather dangerous, but trade between Abimaagh and Duur' Alkaad focuses more on Balkanacht being sent to Duur' Alkaad and bone fishhooks and spearheads being sent to Abimaagh. Its docks and shipyards are sprawling and large, and it is known in particular for the nerids and poorer dockworkers who live in the tangled ropes and detritus under the piers. Probably the largest draw for any folk coming to Abimaagh is the Farlander House and the Shades' Trading House set up a few blocks from it. The Farlander House is home to the Farland Shades, the brave (or crazy, depending on whom you ask) explorers who dare to venture into the sun-scorched, bizarre places beyond the Nightlands. They are the patrons to a good deal of the dock's shipmaking buisness, and besides that are a draw for eager would-be Shades seeking to journey far past the fog and dark of thier homeland. The Shades' Trading House is a large, sprawling building dedicated to exotic goods, brought in from various non-Nightlands locations the Farland Shades have visited. Whether simply curious, interested in starting a collection, or looking to get something unusual for the table, this market has a selection of some of the strangest objects, foodstuffs, and curios to be found in the mysterious Burning Lands. ''(Located at 41V) 'Features -' Abimaagh docks, Farlander House, Underdocks Falancht Falancht is the capital city of Eshandet. It is a very Gothic-styled place, with a great deal of towers, spires, and open walkways between high walls and spiralled staircases of black iron. It is better-lit than the other Nightlands cities, having numerous blue-green chemical torches and braziers set up all over, giving the whole place a slightly ghostly look in the dark of the Nightlands. It is mostly made of darker stone, having been cut practically whole out of the sea-cliffs it rests on, with some notable exceptions for the Morgan's Palace, which is crafted mainly from green-and-black marble. It is considered an impressive city by most visitors, and in more than just the architecture. The city is set high on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and spreads out in a tiered half-circle out into a small valley. Strategically placed, it can control the harbour below, and any assaults by land would be difficult and slow due to the carefully sectioned nature of the city. Besides the Palace and the extensive harbour in the bay below, Falancht boasts an exceedingly large marketplace that extends in a large area, from about midway up the valley and in a long curve down to the docks at the harbour. It is reknowned for having a particularly large selection of Nightlands-based goods. (Located at 38U) '''Features - '''Beschthalt Harbour, Morgan's Palace, Kalthrend Marketplace Geography Category:Geography